Stuffed Peppers

I remember my mom making this recipe when I was little, but it only had meat and cheese as the filling.....tastes great, but what about the veggies??? I found this recipe that is much healthier. So I love this recipe because it is so healthy and filling. I saute the veggies really well and then my 11 month old will eat it too. I personally like making these with red peppers, but they can be pricey if you are feeding your whole family so I opted for 3 green, 1 red this time. I also leave out the meat occasionally and it still tastes great.

Stuffed PeppersSouthernfood.com

INGREDIENTS: Serves 4

4 bell peppers: red, yellow or green
2 tsp salt

Filling:
2 TBS olive oil
½ C chopped onion
½ C chopped celery
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
3 TBS tomato paste
1/3 C water (I leave this out and just do not drain the tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp dried leaf basil
1 ½ tsp salt, divided
½ tsp ground black pepper, divided
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 C cooked long-grain rice
shredded mild cheddar cheese, about ½ C

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut tops off peppers; remove seeds and membranes. Chop edible part of tops and set aside. Rinse peppers under cold water. Place peppers in a large pot; cover with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté chopped green pepper (from tops), chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, crushed garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Gently stir to blend; add ground beef, cooked rice, and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix well.
6. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers.
7. Bake at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes. Top stuffed peppers with a little shredded Cheddar cheese just before peppers are done; bake until cheese is melted.

Photo Source: Cooking Creations

Chicken Salad

Sam’s Club Chicken SaladJana B.

Blend together:

½ C mayonnaise
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dry mustard

Add:
2 TBS chopped green onion
½ C diced celery
1 13 oz can Member’s Mark Chicken, drained and flake with fork or hands.
red grapes cut in half (optional)
cashews (optional)

Mix well. Chill in fridge. Best if done day ahead. Serve on small croissants.

Photo Source: My Recipes

Lil' Smokies

Bake Time: 20 minutes
Temperature: 400 degrees

INGREDIENTS:

1 package Little Smokeys hot dog sausages
1 package bacon
brown sugar
toothpicks
tinfoil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut slices of bacon in half.
2. Wrap each half slice of bacon around a little smokey and pin it with a toothpick.
3. Thickly coat in brown sugar.
4. Place on a tinfoil-lined pan. If not, your pan will never be clean again!
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or longer if you like the bacon cooked more.

Photo Source: Tasty Kitchen

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I found this recipe online somewhere and was really impressed with it. Have you ever heard the joke about how its not ok to eat cake for breakfast, but a muffin is just fine?? Well, I'm NOT a sweet muffin person because I AM eating this for breakfast and I don't want it to have as much sugar in it as a candy bar. There are 2 versions to this recipe. The first is the original....sweeter and really good, the second is not nearly as sweet but I actually like it better for that reason alone. So, think about what your family will eat when making these yummy muffins. Maybe half milk-half apple juice concentrate would be the best option.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins



Mix in a large bowl:
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda



Mix in a small bowl:
3/4 C apple juice concentrate, thawed (for my version I substitute half milk half juice concentrate to reduce sweetness. You can even substitute all of the apple juice for milk, but it won't be sweet.)
1 egg, beaten
1 C ripe bananas (usually about 3), mashed
1/4 C raisins



Mix wet and dry ingredients and spoon into muffin cups. Muffins can be to the brim of the muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 12 muffins. If making "mini muffins" it makes 24.



*Optional: Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of muffin batter before baking.

Photo Source: My Kitchen